Russian Ark: The Masterworks Edition | Anna Aleksakhina, Konstantin Anisimov

Russian Ark: The Masterworks Edition | Anna Aleksakhina, Konstantin Anisimov | Russian Ark--An Art Journey

DVDs:

Russian Ark: The M...

	Russian Ark: The Masterworks Edition Anna Aleksakhina, Konstantin Anisimov Fox Lorber, 2003 average customer review:based on 108 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A modern filmmaker magically finds himself transported to the 18th century, where he embarks on a time-traveling journey through 300 years of Russian history in Alexander Sokurov?s masterpiece. Filmed in HD with directors commentary

A magisterial tour de force historical journey!

Marquis de Countese, a French diplomatic of XVII joins us in a mesmerizing and minimalist recount around the most emblematic passages of the Russian history.

Employing the Hermitage Museum as a huge stage, we will see since Catalina The Great to the Romanov Dynasty and the great Imperial Dances.

Surrounded of an exquisiteness and genuine sumptuousness, this master director - whose visual style reminds us so much to Andrei Tarkovsky, we will accompany him in this fascinating and original film.

That Russian Ark is like a kaleidoscopic cavern of the memory, filled of reflections about Art and History, which constitutes by itself a magnificent artistic device to carve in relief his smart and sharp thoughts along the narrative thread.

One of the most superb masterworks in this raising Century.

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Russian Ark--An Art Journey

The Russian Ark is an art journey for the mind. Having been to Russia twice and so impressed with the beauty of the Hermitage I decided to give this a try. The video is so impressive. This is the story of a ghost who is elusive to the current day visitors to the Hermitage. The ghost describes the days he worked at the museum and his experiences. The degree and depth of the photography is awesome. I highly recommend this DVD for anyone who enjoys the out of body experience studying art gives you. (This video is extra special because photography wasn't allowed on our second visit).

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A Glimpse of Russian Art, Culture and History

This awe-inspiring film by Alexander Sokurov was filmed at the Museum of the Hermitage, former palace of the Tsars in St Petersburg, Russia. It was done in one take which is a first of its kind. The film is most unusual and creative in that it is narrated by a French Marquis who occasionally is a voyeur to Russian history as it unfolds while strolling through the Hermitage. History unfolds before his eyes and the Marquis occasionally interacts with various people of different eras whom he is viewing. This is a creative and magnificent production which contrasts the European viewpoint of Russian art, culture and history against Russia's own point of view of the same ...

The film begins in a haunting, dream-like manner when the French Marquis discovers himself in 18th Century Russia ... watching handsome young officers and their beautiful female partners enter the palace during the time of Peter the Great. The French Marquis is describing what he sees and interprets it for the film viewer, while another disembodied spirit, who has only a voice, occasionaly expresses the Russian point of view about the same scene. This film takes the viewer through 300 years of Russian history and at least four galleries of the Hermitage, as well as the ballroom and other private areas. The French Marquis opens private doors and enters into 18th century Russian aristocratic life. At one point, he recognizes the poet Pushkin during an encounter. The French Marquis also describes and interprets artwork by great Masters displayed on the walls, for instance, a famous painting by Van Dyke and a very exquisite marble statue of three naked muses by the sculptor Canova. The Marquis comments on Russian tastes in art and also about Russian music which he hears coming from a conservatory ...

Several of my favorite scenes are when Catherine the Great comes to life before our eyes. Catherine the Great was the founder of the museum. Initially, she bought over 200 paintings which now has grown to a collection of over 2.7 million items. There are five palaces which make up the complex. Her walk outside into the winter snow on the grounds of the Hermitage seems haunting, prophetic and beautiful beyond description. Another authentic looking scene is when a Persian envoy arrives before the throne of the Tsar, with the intention of creating a pact of peace after a Russian diplomat had been murdered in Tehran. The magnificence, grandeur and solemnity of the occasion is indescribable. One of the most impressive scenes was the ballroom scene, when handsome Russian officers and elegantly dressed ladies danced a mazurka to a live orchestra. The costumes were period pieces created just for this film, based on authentic clothes worn by aristocrats of that era. There was a great scene were the Marquis entered the dining room before the guests arrived for dinner. He admired the hand-painted blue and gold porcelain dinner ware (the real thing which was lent by the museum for use in the film). Another haunting and well done scene is when the Marquis enters a dusty room where he is admonished by "the voice" to not go. It houses remnants of the past related to World War II ... of which the Marquis would have no knowledge. He was told Germany and Russia went to war and the Russians paid a high price as over one million died. The film ends on a positive note, when the ballroom guests file out, walking down long corridors, and down marble staircases, wearing their magnificent finery, eventually to be escorted to their waiting horse-drawn carriages. The final scene shows an icey ocean which seems to represent the great Unknown ... the void, possibly Infinity.

This DVD has a great section, called "Film in One Breath", which chronicles how the film was made. There are comments by Alexander Sokurov where he explains his goals and intentions during the filming process. The camerman, Tilman Bütner, provides insights into the technical difficulties of making a film in one single take. The film was very expensive to make, it had a cast of over 850, most of whom wore 18th Century costumes made especially for this occasion. A special camera called "steadycam" was made in Canada specifically for creating this film. It was also the first of its kind. There were numerous organizational and lighting problems to overcome to create the right scene, with the right effects. Great challenges were arose related to set design, lighting and the proper use of architecture which obviously could not be changed.

Alexander Sokurov was also the director of "Mother and Son" another cinematic masterpiece with highly original filming techniques which made the film look like a French impressionistic painting that came to life. It told a very touching and sensitive story. Truly it depicts the Russian soul during its finest moment. Both films "Russian Ark" and "Mother and Son" are highly recommended. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

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Russian Ark

The movie is essentially a tour through the Hermitage, a wonderful museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, containing priceless treasures of the Czars. I was inerested mostly because I had actually been there a few months ago. The movie does not have much of a plot, but it gives the viewer a feel of several hundred years of Russian history.

Good but could have been better

The movie was very good in that it was shot as a single take. The actual places that they showed in the movie would not have been my choice. I was more interested in things like the private apartments that the imperial family would have used. Alexander II was brought back to the Winter Palace (a part of the Hermitage) and died there. I also thought that it lasted longer than 90 minutes. You need to know a little history or you will be confused. It's well worth it for the scenery and the authentic costumes that were worn, down to the servants liveries.

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